Thursday, 20 September 2012

Meet M J Kane

M J Kane

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M.J. Kane stumbled into
writing. An avid reader, this stay at home mom never lost the overactive
imagination of an only child. As an adult she made up stories, though never
shared them, to keep herself entertained. It wasn’t until surviving a traumatic
medical incident in 2006 that she found a reason to let the characters
inhabiting her imagination free.Upon
the suggestion of her husband, she commandeered his laptop and allowed the
characters to take life. It was that, or look over her shoulder for men caring
a purple strait jacket. And the rest, as they say, is history.

No longer a television addict, if M.J. isn’t
reading a book by one of her favorite authors, she’s battling with her creative
muse to balance writing and being a wife and mother. She resides in the suburbs
of Atlanta, Georgia with her high school sweetheart, four wonderful children,
and two pit bulls. MJ can often be found hanging out at the local library where
she is director of a local writer’s group, or online connecting with readers and
other authors. Other activities she enjoys include: creating custom floral
arrangements, assisting her children in their creative pursuits of music and
art, and supporting her husband’s music production business, 3D Sounds

Please
share with us your upcoming release.

Ebony is a smart, sexy,
career-oriented black woman who wants nothing more than a summer fling with a
man who challenges her mind and body. What she doesn’t expect is a blond
haired, blue-eyed bass player—who won’t take “no” for an answer—to accept the
challenge.

When Ebony’s attempt at a
brief fling turns into more, despite negative reactions from friends and
family, she finds juggling love, family, and career are nothing compared to the
ultimate betrayal she endures. Now her dreams spiral into lies and secrets that
threaten her future and her best friend’s trust.Available now from 5
Prince Publishing! BUY NOW!

What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

Being able to
get the people that inhabit my mind out on paper! For years I’ve gone to bed at
night with scenes (well, I didn’t think of them as scenes at the time)
replaying over and over in my head while I waited to go to sleep. I had no idea
that the stories I made up would ever become something to write about!

What genre(s) do you write?

Interracial
Romance, Contemporary Romance, Women’s Fiction

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Perfecting the
minor details…punctuation, monitoring the use of dialogue tags, and staying in
the same tense throughout without switching between past and present. Those
things take time, patience, and lots of practice! My original manuscript has
had at least ten sets of revisions to get it where it is today, and that was
before it even saw an editor! After that would be learning when it’s time to
put my baby down and entrust it to my beta readers and editor, praying they see
my story the way I want it to come across.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I am proud to
say I am a reformed panster! LOL! My stories didn’t reach the level of writing
I wanted them too until I sat down and plotted! Don’t get me wrong, I have been
known to change my plot when my characters tap me on the shoulder, but I have
to have a detailed road map to point me in the ‘write’ direction!

Why do you think people should choose your books over
another author?

I don’t want anyone
to choose me over any other author, but I do want to be an author that a reader
chooses. There are so many stories to be told, and so many different ways to
tell them…as a new author I want someone to give me a chance and not push my
book away because they prefer another author. Before I stared writing, I was
one of those who read the same authors faithful without giving anyone else a
chance. The minute I dropped that mindset, I found myself exposed to a wider
variety or stories, unique and different writing styles and voices. Expanding
my reading expanded my mind. I wish for my readers to do the same.

What do you hope readers take with them after reading
one of your stories?

I want my
readers to understand that no matter what our backgrounds are, or where we are
from, someone somewhere is experiencing the same thing that you are, good and
bad. What matters most is how we deal with those experiences. Everyone may not
have the love and support they need to help them make the decisions best for
them. Reading how my characters endure, overcome, and evolve into stronger
individuals due to the obstacles I put in their path is what I wish all my
readers will learn. The ability to evolve into more is something that is
possible in all of us.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers
to grasp?

Never give up
going for your dream, despite what anyone says. Dig deep within yourself to
find the courage you need to push through the negativity. Somewhere out there,
there is someone else who is going through the same thing.

How long have you been a writer?

I’ve wrote my
first short story, a fan fic of the show, LOST, in 2005 as a prompt for a fan
site. It eventually turned into a 30 page story. But it wasn’t until 2009 that
I hijacked my hubby’s laptop, raided my local library for books on writing, and
began writing as a hobby. It took a year for the hobby to turn into a way of
finding myself again.

How much time did it take from writing your first book
to having it published?

Four years!
During that time it went from a hobby to a career. I’ve given up, gotten
frustrated, and then reinvigorated. Thank god I didn’t give up!

What other careers have you had?

Let’s see, I’ve
been a cashier, customer service rep at K-Mart, Dispatcher for UPS and
Safelight Auto Glass, Floral Designer for Hobby Lobby. I’ve worked as a 10-key
Operator for several major banks in their Operations centers. And of course, I
am also a wife and mother of 4 kids!

Do you write under more than one name? Why?

No, my pen name
is all I can handle. I spend too much time in my character’s heads to give
myself yet another name! LOL!

Are any of your characters based on real people or
events?

Yes. Most of the
men in my stories are loosely based on a facet of my husband’s many different
careers and skill sets. The women in my stories are different pieces of women I
know. They are also loosely based on the different aspects of my own personality,
whether pronounced or hidden.

How would you describe yourself if you were “speed
dating” your readers?

I love reading
stories about strong women living lives and working careers that I can relate
too. My goal is to bring what I feel is missing in storytelling to my readers
through a fresh voice and different style of writing. My books will not only
entertain you, they will offer encouragement, comfort, and support to those in
need.

What’s something fans would find fascinating about
you?

I survived a
series of strokes in 2006 that nearly killed me. I was in ICU for two weeks,
and paralyzed on one side of my body for several days. Every time I meet
someone and say that, they think I’m lying. Believe me, I lived through it,
it’s not an experience I would make up or wish on anyone! The fact that I have
been able to recover and discover a talent for writing and to have gotten
published is a blessing. There are many authors out there who have strived to
get to this level for years and are still trying. Since surviving the stroke,
I’ve learned a lot about me and what I can overcome. That is why I focus on the
ability to overcome life’s adversities in my stories.

What else would you like readers to know about you or
your work?

When I write, I
try my best to tell stories I feel my readers can relate too. I like real
characters, real situations, real everything. I literally cry with my
characters when I put them through the wringer. It was a struggle to learn that
hurting my characters and watching them grow stronger is the only way to tell a
good story.

What books or authors have most influenced your life?

There are so
many!! I will say that as of late, I have studied the writing styles of three
very different authors: J.R. Ward (Erotic Paranormal Romance), Suzanne
Brockmann, whom I’ve had the privilege of meeting and getting a book about my
favorite characters autographed! (Military Romance), and Janet Evanovich
(Comedy, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance). All three tell very different
stories using unique and intriguing voices. I have read and studied every book
in their series and have learned so much. I don’t think my series would exist
if it wasn’t from learning from them!

How do your family and/or friends feel about your book
or writing venture in general?

For the longest
my family thought of it as just something I did to keep busy, then again, so
did I. It wasn’t until I reached a very changing point in my life when I put
writing to the side for a month to focus on my personal growth that I realized
the newly developed people in my head wouldn’t leave me alone. From there I
made moves to learn as much as I could about writing. It was then not only me,
but my family began to see this as something I cared about. Since then, they’ve
had my back, and continue to do so. Outside of my house, not very many people
know about my writing. I prefer to keep outside negative influences away and
concentrate on those who are either supportive or interested in my work.

Where are you from?

Atlanta,
Georgia, yes I am indeed a Georgia Peach!

How do you come up with the titles?

I think about
the story and what theme flows throughout. I love symbolism. So if there is
something symbolic about my characters life, or relationships, I try to tie
that into the title. The original title to my debut novel was The Healing Heart. Since the heroine is
a Veterinarian, her job entails taking care of animals, healing them when they
are sick. But the story doesn’t focus on her job. It focuses on her experiences
outside of work, events that test her as a woman, lover, and friend. Thus, A Heart Not Easily Broken. It suggests
strength, endurance, and the desire to never give up. The title of the second
novel in the series is called Jaded,
and fits the hero and heroine perfectly!

Has your life changed significantly since becoming a
published writer?

Uh, no, other
than being a lot more tired by the end of the day! I still get up and drop
people off at school and work. Still have to make sure the bills get paid,
homework done…lol, the wife/ mother duties never change. If anything, I’ve made
myself busier! Every day is a struggle to remain on task and find a schedule
that works. Since I am not the best at scheduling or staying on task, it’s
always a challenge. I’ll get it down eventually!

Do you work on one project at a time? Or do you
multi-task?

I little of
both. Whatever deadlines my publisher has for me takes precedence. I still have
times where no matter what I am working on, characters from one of the next
five books pop in and demand my attention. After a week of being bombarded by
their voices, I will pull out my voice recorder and dictate the scenes playing
in my mind, then put it away. Many a scene has been dictated while I’m driving
or sitting in the parking lot of the high school waiting for my kids! If I have
time, I grab pen and paper and write it down. Each novel already has bits and
pieces of the stories outlined, scenes written, character charts worked on. But
nothing is set in stone until it’s time to focus on that book.

When not writing, how do you relax?

Relax? What’s
that? My characters won’t shut up! When I do force myself to take a mental
break, I read books by my favorite authors, or new authors I have met. I also
watch TV, but have found television boring and lacking, so I pick back up
another book. I play The Sims
sometimes, talk to my kids, and play with my two pit bulls.

Please tell us 5 miscellaneous facts about yourself.

I am an only child.

I am hard headed…lol.

When I was younger, I wanted to be a mermaid.

I am a Star Wars Fan! But you will never catch me in the Princess
Leia Slave Girl outfit!

I don’t like spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

Please share with us your future projects and upcoming
releases.

My debut novel, A Heart Not Easily Broken, Book One of the Butterfly
Memoirs, will be published September 20th as and eBook, October
4th, in paperback.

Jaded, Book Two of the Butterfly Memoirs will be available March 2013. Look for a excerpt at the end of A Heart Not Easily Broken!

You can find MJ on social
networking sites, sharing writing tips, talking about music, life, and family.
She’s always excited to meet new people. Connect with her via the websites
below.